Mine just had the same problem too, after sitting for a month in the cold Michigan garage.
Kept stalling and was non-responsive at times. I was in a panic as the problem didn't seem to improve.

A bottle of Dry-Gas, and today... all is well once again, took it on a 50 mile road trip, with lots of stops too.  

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of al sinclair
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2018 3:29 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Briefly unresponsive engine

thanks Ned

the same problem happened yesterday but unusually lasted for a couple of
minutes instead of very briefly (felt like hours, in a left turn lane of
stoplights) .. gotta figure it out before my wife has a panic

On Thu, Dec 13, 2018 at 7:00 AM Ned Savoie <ned@harbourlight.com> wrote:

> http://type2.com/type2.html is the link to sign up for the email list for
> the baywindow years. It is very similar to the Vanagon list, although there
> is a lot less traffic. They used to be all one list, but they were split up
> 15 years ago or so when traffic got to be too much. Then Facebook came
> along and kind of killed everything. Not much traffic, but the people on
> the list know their stuff.
>
> Hope this helps.
>
> Ned
>
> --
>
> Ned Savoie
> Creative Director
>
> Harbour Light Strategic Marketing
> Savvy Software, Inc.
> 621A Islington Street
> Portsmouth, NH 03801
>
> [Telephone] 603.427.2821
> [Facsimile] 603.427.0938
> [Mobile] 603.828.2400
>
>
> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 6:10 PM al sinclair <alvanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> thanks Ned, yes this generation of engine is VW's weird first attempt at
>> the California air quality stuff
>> please point me to the type 2 list
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 2:29 PM Ned Savoie <ned@harbourlight.com> wrote:
>>
>>> You may also want to check with the Type 2 list, as your ride is a bit
>>> of a hybrid. Your motor is much more Type 2 than Vanagon, though.
>>>
>>> Ned
>>>
>>> --
>>>
>>> Ned Savoie
>>> Creative Director
>>>
>>> Harbour Light Strategic Marketing
>>> Savvy Software, Inc.
>>> 621A Islington Street
>>> Portsmouth, NH 03801
>>>
>>> [Telephone] 603.427.2821
>>> [Facsimile] 603.427.0938
>>> [Mobile] 603.828.2400
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 4:53 PM al sinclair <alvanagon@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Thanks. Fuel filter was replaced when the rebuilt motor went in ~10k
>>>> miles
>>>> and two years back.
>>>> If the fuel filter was flaky wouldn't that more likely lead to problems
>>>> at
>>>> higher engine power, not when starting-off from stationary? There are no
>>>> issues with running at full bore.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Dec 12, 2018 at 1:05 PM KIM BRENNAN <kimbrennan@mac.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> > Air, Fuel, Spark. From your description it sounds like Air and Spark
>>>> are
>>>> > okay...So, when was the last time the fuel filter was changed?
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > > On Dec 12, 2018, at 3:58 PM, al sinclair <alvanagon@GMAIL.COM>
>>>> wrote:
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Please help suggest a cause of a new problem in 1981 Westie
>>>> (aircooled),
>>>> > > automatic not stick shift.
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Occasionally, a few times a day, there's no response from the
>>>> engine when
>>>> > > pushing the accelerator pedal to accelerate from stationary. The
>>>> pedal
>>>> > > moves normally, and the sound of the engine changes so I think the
>>>> > throttle
>>>> > > opens, but there's no change from idle, no increase of power for at
>>>> least
>>>> > > several seconds. Then the engine behaves totally normally. I've
>>>> begun
>>>> > > pumping the pedal when this happens but I'm unsure if it makes any
>>>> > > difference.
>>>> > >
>>>> > > The engine was rebuilt a couple of years back (lovely job by Greg
>>>> Tuttle,
>>>> > > installed by Fred's Garage, runs like a dream) maybe 10,000 miles
>>>> ago.
>>>> > It's
>>>> > > had oil changes but little else since then.
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Any ideas how to identify the cause will be much appreciated. The
>>>> problem
>>>> > > isn't reproducible on demand, it only happens now and then - and
>>>> can be
>>>> > > scary if I'm pulling out across the road.
>>>> > >
>>>> > > Thanks
>>>> > > Alan
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>>
>>>